Dining room cupboard

Fred Drift · Feb 23, 2011

Talking of old windmills - has anyone been to visit Old Buckenham? It's 24 feet high and a whoping 26'6 at the base - the largest diameter mill tower in the country, you know.

http://www.banhamandthebucks.co.uk/windmill/index.html

Andrew Bodenham · Feb 23, 2011

I rather like the look of that cupboard, and the doors are clearly well made. The heaviness of it seems to come from the interior, so I think that painting the interior a light colour, and maybe using a lovely wallpaper on the back could make a huge improvement. For a more dramatic / drastic effect you could fit a mirror in the back. The wooden shelves could be replaced with toughened glass shelves; in conjunction with discrete halogen cabinet lighting this would make the whole cabinet very sparkly and ready to display glassware or silver or other treasures. Then you'd be looking more at the interior and less at the glazing bars and refelctions from the glass.

JoceAndChris · Feb 23, 2011

What lovely ideas Andrew! I particularly like the idea of the mirror back, it all sounds so sparkling.

Penners · Feb 23, 2011

PLEASE don't paint it! Mahogany is such a precious timber. It's impossible to tell from the photos whether it's solid mahogany or veneered, but I think it's quite elegant and not at all "jarring" in a Georgian room. Whether it's solid or veneered, given its age it may well be Brazilian mahogany, which makes it marginally less valuable than gold, nowadays!

I like Gareth's idea of turning it around to face into the other room. But even if you decide to leave it as it is, I really urge you to try and find other ways of brightening up its look, other than painting. Have you tried doing nothing more than placing your best dinner service on display inside? If it's white, this will immediately lift and brighten the interior, and will certainly reflect the original intention of its installation in the dining room.

If you install lights, do be sure that the light-source isn't visible to the observer, looking into the cupboard. If the lamp were visible, this would tend to dazzle and spoil your view of the contents. Discrete, warm-white lighting which shines only inwards (and with fittings that are invisible when the doors are closed) would be ideal. Your best glassware would sparkle beautifully in the discretely-lit cabinet.

robgil · Feb 23, 2011

Fred Drift said:
Talking of old windmills - has anyone been to visit Old Buckenham? It's 24 feet high and a whoping 26'6 at the base - the largest diameter mill tower in the country, you know.

http://www.banhamandthebucks.co.uk/windmill/index.html

You really are trying hard to throw the scent off arnt you Fred?

Speaking of refugees what ever happened to the band of merry social refugees that wanted to inhabit a field close to you Joce? Did they ever get to build their eco village and swap their goats eggs for clothing and nappys from the surrounding neighbourhood?

Penners · Feb 23, 2011

Fred Drift said:
Talking of old windmills - has anyone been to visit Old Buckenham? It's 24 feet high and a whoping 26'6 at the base - the largest diameter mill tower in the country, you know.

My grandad had a Jowett Javelin with broken bonnet catches.

jocelyn plummer · Feb 23, 2011

No, not tweed, silk, that is what was always used. The '30's 'repro' glazing bars are absolutely fine and acceptable with the 'real' proportions of Georgian glazing. Nobody will really notice, it just seems a bit obvious at the moment because you are focusing on the cupboard in an empty room. The eye will go to the goodies inside.

You can get some good watered silk replicas very cheaply, or phone up Gainsborough and beg some remnants-- say you are Trade and need it for drop in seats or something.

LadyArowana · Feb 23, 2011

jocelyn plummer said:
it just seems a bit obvious at the moment because you are focusing on the cupboard in an empty room. The eye will go to the goodies inside.

Some nice decorative elephants would be perfect, silver and white ceramic ones!

Penners · Feb 23, 2011

jocelyn plummer said:
phone up Gainsborough

He must be a good age, now.*

*Yes, I know, Gainsborough Silk Mills. I used to live near Sudbury.

Maddie-Rose · Feb 23, 2011

Hiya
I hate to say this, But I don't like it, sorry :|

I looked at the picture, before reading that it had been put in the place of a removed window, and thought it looked odd flush with the wall.

Personally, I would think about maybe removing it and re establishing the window if possible? Otherwise to stop it being so imposing, maybe rubbing it down and limewaxing, or even an offwhite limewash?

However, if you are decorating the wall with darkish colours, then it may blend in

Penners · Feb 23, 2011

Maddie-Rose said:
Personally, I would think about maybe removing it and re establishing the window if possible? Otherwise to stop it being so imposing, maybe rubbing it down and limewaxing, or even an offwhite limewash?

:evil:

CatherineB · Feb 23, 2011

Penners said:
PLEASE don't paint it! Mahogany is such a precious timber. It's impossible to tell from the photos whether it's solid mahogany or veneered, but I think it's quite elegant and not at all "jarring" in a Georgian room. Whether it's solid or veneered, given its age it may well be Brazilian mahogany, which makes it marginally less valuable than gold, nowadays!

I like Gareth's idea of turning it around to face into the other room. But even if you decide to leave it as it is, I really urge you to try and find other ways of brightening up its look, other than painting. Have you tried doing nothing more than placing your best dinner service on display inside? If it's white, this will immediately lift and brighten the interior, and will certainly reflect the original intention of its installation in the dining room.

If you install lights, do be sure that the light-source isn't visible to the observer, looking into the cupboard. If the lamp were visible, this would tend to dazzle and spoil your view of the contents. Discrete, warm-white lighting which shines only inwards (and with fittings that are invisible when the doors are closed) would be ideal. Your best glassware would sparkle beautifully in the discretely-lit cabinet.

I was going to write quite a long reply, but Penners has said it all for me. I would vote for leaving it, or turning it to face the 30's room if its era really bothers you. If you turn it, surely it's not that big a job for a good joiner/carpenter/cabinetmaker, to make another stretch of plate rack to fill the gap?

MdB · Feb 23, 2011

For what it is worth, my view is that I like it as it is. I certainly wouldn't want to paint it or alter its finish.

Nigel Watts · Feb 23, 2011

Lutyens used this kind of feature quite a bit in his neo-Georgian phase. I am now finding it difficult to post pics from the other place but I will see if I can highlight one there.

JoceAndChris · Feb 23, 2011

Thanks Nigel. If it's good enough for the Neo-Georgians, it's good enough for me.

Maddie-Rose was brave to speak out, being new, but I won't paint it now. It will never be my favourite feature in the house but I'm sure I'll learn to live with it.

Turning it to face the music room, on the other side ( the 30s extension) would make an awful mess of the new ish Farrow and Ball wallpaper in there, I fear, and necessitate the sale of a bureau I'm rather fond of. So it certainly can't happen in the short term. If the room hadn't been done, maybe.

Penners - thank you for your very eloquent post. I must buy some pretty things for it, and I love Joss' idea of the watered silk at the back - I think we'll go for that.

Flyfisher · Feb 23, 2011

JoceAndChris said:
Turning it to face the music room, on the other side ( the 30s extension) would make an awful mess of the new ish Farrow and Ball wallpaper in there, I fear, and necessitate the sale of a bureau I'm rather fond of. So it certainly can't happen in the short term. If the room hadn't been done, maybe.

I wonder if it would be easy to reverse the cabinet? If it was really built as a separate item and then inserted into the wall opening then It probably would be fairly easy. But if it was built in-situ then it might be a very different matter.

Feltwell · Feb 23, 2011

Fred Drift said:
Talking of old windmills - has anyone been to visit Old Buckenham? It's 24 feet high and a whoping 26'6 at the base - the largest diameter mill tower in the country, you know.

http://www.banhamandthebucks.co.uk/windmill/index.html

The Reliant Robin "car" - why do so many people call them "Robin Reliant"? It's not as if you call other cars "Mondeo Ford" or "Imp Hillman".

CatherineB · Feb 23, 2011

Feltwell said:
Fred Drift said:

Talking of old windmills - has anyone been to visit Old Buckenham? It's 24 feet high and a whoping 26'6 at the base - the largest diameter mill tower in the country, you know.

http://www.banhamandthebucks.co.uk/windmill/index.html

Click to expand...

The Reliant Robin "car" - why do so many people call them "Robin Reliant"? It's not as if you call other cars "Mondeo Ford" or "Imp Hillman".

Jolly good question, Feltwell, I am personally one of those so many people!

We used to have a Hillman Hunter, BTW. Complete with thigh-burning faux-leather plastic seats. And probably not a seatbelt in sight, at least in the back. Ahh, those were the days!

FamilyWiggs · Feb 23, 2011

I like it. I also like Maddie-Rose for saying she didn't.

Welcome Maddie-Rose - sorry hadn't spotted your other posts. It's great to have a diversity of views on here (provided they don't include uPVC, damp proofing old buildings or the merits of C£m£nt :shock: )!

JoceAndChris · Feb 27, 2011

Hmmm

I do ask myself if we are really making any progress with this room. It looked a lot better a year ago.

Dining room cupboard

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member